


Two Guesses; One Correct

by rsadelle



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, M/M, Misunderstandings, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-06 23:23:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1876437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rsadelle/pseuds/rsadelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brownie looks even more confused than Tyler did by the whole conversation. "I thought you weren't going to tell him you're a sub yet."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Guesses; One Correct

**Author's Note:**

> For mourning_night, who asked for "something about Jamie Benn jumping to the wrong conclusions when he sees Segs flinch at Brownie's touch."
> 
> **Content Note:** The central plot point of this story is Jamie thinking Tyler is being abused. (He is not.)

The chemistry isn't a lie. Jamie has never gotten along so well so fast with anyone the way he did with Tyler. But for all that, there are things Jamie and Tyler don't talk about, in ways that seem perfectly normal in the moment but strange when Jamie thinks about it later. Still, Jamie spends enough time around Tyler to figure some things out on his own, including some things that make them not talking about hookups or dynamics or anything like that make sense. And even if he didn't figure it out himself, there are the times when Tyler's friends come to visit and it becomes perfectly obvious, at least to someone who knows Tyler as well as Jamie does, that it's not a couple of doms goofing around. Not that Jamie has any problem with that kind of thing, but he knows the difference between that and a dom and sub being discreet about their dynamic interaction.

He's expecting more of the same when a whole crew of Tyler's friends come to visit after the end of the season, and in some ways that's what he gets. The whole bunch of them are pretty hands-on with Tyler, in ways Jamie is careful not to be because he's Tyler's friend, not his dom. But in other ways, it's not quite what he's expecting, and it takes him a while to put a finger on why.

The first hint he gets of it is a movement he sees only out of the corner of his eye, Tyler moving too fast for a lazy summer afternoon. By the time Jamie really turns that way, whatever it was is done and Tyler's relaxed and chill again.

The second time he sees it happen. Brownie puts his hand on the back of Tyler's neck, which is something Jamie never does but has seen some of Tyler's other friends do. Tyler jerks away from it, a full-body flinch that makes Jamie look at him sharply. Tyler palms the back of his own neck, shrugs a little, and takes a deep drink of his beer. Jamie looks at Brownie after that, but Brownie isn't paying any attention to him, is just looking at Tyler with a tense, tight look on his face. Jamie recognizes the look of a dom who's not happy, and there's no doubt in his mind that Brownie is a dom. It's what he's been missing, the way the other guys are handsy with Tyler but less seriously than he's seen them be before, like they're leaving space. He's guessing, now, that the space is for Brownie.

He sees it the third time too, Brownie grabbing at Tyler's wrist while they're all hanging out around the pool at Tyler's new place, and then Tyler yanking his wrist out of Brownie's grip. Jamie has to bite down on his lip to keep from saying something about it then. If everything's fine, then it's not really his place to get involved, and if there's something wrong, he doesn't want to make things worse for Tyler. But that doesn't stop him from following Tyler inside next time he goes to the kitchen.

"You want something?" Tyler asks from where he's leaning into the fridge.

"Water," Jamie says, and catches the bottle Tyler tosses him. It gives him something to fidget with. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Tyler says, sounding confused by the question.

Jamie's going to have to be a little more direct, then, if he wants a real answer. "Look," he says, "I know it's not my place to say anything, and your relationships are your business, and I don't know what's part of how you play and what's not, but sometimes things that aren't healthy can feel a lot like things that are, and if you ever need help or whatever, you can come talk to me."

"Uh," Tyler says, scrunching up his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jamie sighs. He's going to have to be really direct. "Is Brownie hurting you in ways you don't want? Or not respecting your limits? Because the romance novel thing about how not having limits makes a good sub is bullshit."

Tyler's cheeks turn bright red and his mouth drops open.

"He is your dom, right?" Jamie asks, because he might as well check in that he's asking the right questions about the right things. "Or your primary one or whatever your arrangement is?"

"Uh, yeah," Tyler says, still bright red and looking startled.

One of the doors to the backyard opens, and Brownie's voice carries through to the kitchen. "I thought you were bringing me a beer." He stops just inside the kitchen and looks between them. "What's going on?"

Tyler walks over to Brownie and puts his arms around him, ducking his head to nestle it just under Brownie's chin. And then Brownie's glaring at Jamie, like _he's_ the problem.

"Jamie thinks you're an abusive dom," Tyler says into Brownie's chest.

Brownie looks even more confused than Tyler did by the whole conversation. "I thought you weren't going to tell him you're a sub yet."

"I wasn't." Tyler turns his head so his cheek is still against Brownie's bare chest but he's looking at Jamie. "I didn't."

And now Jamie is the one who's confused. "I figured it out," he says. "I thought you knew that."

"No," Tyler says, and then he starts to laugh, an almost hysterical giggle that calms with the stroke of Brownie's hand over his back. "I've been trying not to let you find out."

Jamie frowns. "Why?" And then he connects the dots. "Oh," he says. "That's why you've been flinching away from Brownie."

"Yeah," Tyler says, and now that he's not doing it, Jamie can see how much effort Tyler was putting into not melting into Brownie, because he is one blissed out sub right now with Brownie's hands on him. "People look at me differently when they find out. And they try to, like, dom me."

Jamie makes a face. "I'm sure you're very pretty when you're submitting, but no. You're really not my type."

Tyler squawks in protest, and Brownie hides a chuckle against Tyler's shoulder.

"Why not?" Tyler asks.

Brownie nips at Tyler's neck, like now that Jamie knows, there's nothing to keep them from whatever kinds of PDA they want to indulge in. "Do you really want him to want to dom you?"

"No," Tyler says, leaning back against Brownie and tipping his head to grant Brownie better access to his neck. It's a move that wouldn't look out of place in porn. "But I want to know why he doesn't want to."

"No offense," Jamie says, because he's pretty sure he can be honest with Tyler without actually offending him, "but you seem like a lot of work. I'm not really looking for something like that."

Tyler squawks again, and Brownie grins before he nips at Tyler's neck.

Jamie's just close enough to hear Brownie murmur, "You are a lot of work. But I like doing the work." He's definitely close enough to see Brownie close his hand around Tyler's wrist, and to see Tyler melt into it instead of pulling away.

"Okay," Jamie says, feeling a lot easier now about Tyler and Brownie's relationship, "I'm going back outside now." He pauses next to them to pat Tyler on the shoulder and meet Brownie's eyes. "Sorry I thought you were hurting him."

Brownie grins at him. "Only when he's good and asks for it."

That's really more than Jamie needs to know to be assured that Tyler's okay. He takes the quickest escape out onto the patio and tries to put the sound of Tyler's choked-off moan out of his head. Best friend or not, there are some things he just doesn't need to know about Tyler, and that sound is one of them.


End file.
